Wheldon Services Set

Tributes and services to honor Dan Wheldon will be held over the next several days.

RacinToday.com

Funeral services for IZOD IndyCar Series driver Dan Wheldon will be held at 10 a.m. (EDT), Saturday, Oct. 22, at First Presbyterian Church of St. Petersburg, 701 Beach Drive N.E. in St. Petersburg, Fla.

Wheldon’s wife, Susie, released the following statement on behalf of the family, inviting members of the community to attend the service:

“Although the last few days have been unbearable for our family, the overwhelming love and support we have received are rays of sunshine during these dark days. The outpouring of sympathy and condolences has been so comforting, and I want to thank everyone for their kind notes, letters, gifts and flowers.

“Dan touched the lives of many people, and I would like to invite those citizens in our community who knew and loved my husband to attend his funeral service at the First Presbyterian Church of St. Petersburg on Saturday, October 22, at 10 a.m.

“Though we won’t be able to fit everyone inside, I know that Dan would have wanted the community to share in the celebration of his life and to grieve his passing. Thank you again. I am forever grateful for your kindness.”

Wheldon, a two-time Indianapolis 500 winner and 2005 IZOD IndyCar Series champion, died from injuries suffered in a racing accident at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Oct. 16. He was 33.

The Dan Wheldon Family Trust Fund has been established for the financial security of Wheldon’s wife and sons, Sebastian and Oliver. The public can make contributions to the following address:

All of Fifth Third Bank’s Indianapolis branches also are accepting contributions in person, which will be routed to the account.

In lieu of flowers, friends and fans can choose to make a donation to the Dan Wheldon Family Trust Fund or the Alzheimer’s Association, a cause close to his heart.

For more details, visit http://www.alz.org or http://www.danwheldonmemorial.com, a memorial site, which includes a Facebook link to leave condolences and remembrances and a career photo retrospective.

Those wishing to send sympathy and condolences to the Wheldon family, can address letters to:

The Wheldons
9600 Koger Blvd N., Suite 105
St. Petersburg, Fla. 33702

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A public memorial service celebrating Dan Wheldon’s life has been scheduled by INDYCAR at 4 p.m. (EDT) Sunday, Oct. 23, at Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.

The memorial also will be broadcast on www.indycar.com, VERSUS and on several Indianapolis network affiliates.

Doors to the Conseco Fieldhouse Indiana University Health Pavilion will open at 1:30 p.m.

There will be two large banners in memory of Wheldon for fans to sign and leave brief messages. A large photograph of Wheldon will be on display, and guests are encouraged to use this location for placement of cards, notes and other mementos for the family. In lieu of flowers, guests are encouraged to make a donation to the Dan Wheldon Family Trust. Donation boxes will be set up in two locations for guests to leave contributions.

Seating in the arena will not be available at this time. General public seating will open at 2:30 p.m. on a first-come, first-served basis in arena non-floor seats.

Floor seats will be reserved for family, special guests and the INDYCAR community, who are encouraged to bring their hard card for identification. Seating for this group will be on a first-come, first-served basis on the floor of the arena from 2:30-3:30 p.m. Access to the floor will be available via the main concourse stairways through Sections 3-17. All seating in and entrance to the arena is subject to availability.

Music, including the Indianapolis Children’s Choir and a video presentation, will begin at 3:30 p.m.

“A Celebration of the Life of Dan Wheldon” is scheduled from 4-5 p.m.

Parking in the Virginia Avenue Garage will be free and open to the public on a first-come, first-served basis. The garage is located on the southeast corner of Delaware and Maryland streets, immediately east of Conseco Fieldhouse.

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NASCAR will provide teams with a B-post decal in honor of Dan Wheldon for all Sprint Cup Series and Camping World Truck Series entrants competing this weekend at Talladega Superspeedway.

Proud of his English heritage, the Lionheart Knight image is one that was included on the back of every one of Dan’s helmets. NASCAR also is producing helmet decals for any driver who would like to run a version of the decal on their helmets. Decals will be delivered trackside on Friday.

As always, decals will be provided to teams during the inspection process throughout the course of the weekend. Additionally, some drivers also have announced personal plans to recognize Dan this weekend.

As part of the NASCAR Pre-Race run-of-show, a moment of silence in Dan’s honor will be observed prior to the invocations Saturday and Sunday.

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The Dan Wheldon Memorial Trophy will be awarded to the winning International Driver competing in the Australian V8 Supercar Championship’s Armor All Gold Coast 600 at Surfers Paradise this weekend.

Wheldon, who competed in the only IndyCar event on the Gold Coast in 2008, was scheduled to partner good friend James Courtney in the Toll Holden Racing Team Commodore this weekend.

“This is a fitting way to honor the life of Dan Wheldon and what he represented to so many international drivers and those in the V8 motorsport community,” said Phil Reeves, Queensland sport minister. Reeves was joined in making the announcement by Tony Cochrane, V8 Supercars chairman, who promised “the party would continue just as Dan would have wanted.

“Dan was a much-loved member of the motorsport community worldwide and a super-talented young man,” Cochrane said. “He was well-known to many of our drivers and a fan of the V8 Supercar Championship. Anyone that knew Dan knew he was the life of the party, so that’s exactly what we’re doing this weekend _ we’ll honor him in the best way possible by putting on the best event and make sure that everyone really enjoys themselves.”

The 28 International Drivers will each race in two, 300-kilometer races around the 2.96-kilometer Surfers Paradise Beachside circuit.